Hong Kong makes a tough call on PCCW

HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – PCCW Ltd.’s hope of spinning off its telecommunications business into Hong Kong’s first listed business trust were shattered when the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong’s listing committee rejected the application. The decision, revealed last week by PCCW, reinforces the SGX’s lock on this type of security, and the temptation for Hong Kong to lure this class of listing away from Singapore must have been intense. But PCCW’s plan raised troubling corporate governance issues.

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PCCW’s business trust – Like father, like son?

HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Richard Li appears again to be following in his father’s footsteps. Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, just spun off the container port assets of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. as a business trust on Singapore’s SGX in the world’s largest IPO so far this year. Now PCCW Ltd., in which the younger Li holds a 27.1% stake, is considering a similar listing in Hong Kong for its telecommunications arm, which accounts for about 90% of PCCW’s business.

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HPH Trust kicks-off bookbuilding

As previously reported on this blog, Hutchison Ports Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) kicked-off yesterday the institutional bookbuilding process for its multi billion-dollar business trust IPO in Singapore. The preliminary prospectus posted on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s OPERA website includes interesting features, which are highlighted below.  read

HPH Trust IPO will boost SGX’s standing

HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – As the largest announced IPO so far this year, the offering of HPH Trust, the container port assets of Hutchison Whampoa, will significantly boost Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s credentials in the ECM arena as it finalizes its tie-up with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX Ltd.).

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